Integrated circuit (IC) design tools currently exist that allow a designer to easily configure a configurable processor core with desired functionality, such as whether to include floating point hardware. Such configurable processor cores can include a base instruction set architecture (ISA), and these and other design tools can further allow a designer to extend this base ISA with instruction extensions, based on desired applications for the IC for example. These design tools can then automatically generate a description of circuitry necessary to implement the configured processor and base and extended instruction sets. These design tools can further automatically generate all the necessary tools such as compiler, assembler, debugger and simulator, that allow developers to develop applications for the designed processor and to verify the processor and applications.
Certain power and area inefficiencies can arise when designing such configurable processors, including when different instruction extensions reference separate but similar data structures. Opportunities exist, therefore, for addressing such efficiencies, among other potential issues.